Castle ruins in Cesis

Vidzeme is a region in northeastern Latvia, bordering Estonia.

Cities

• Cesis – town with a medieval castle, a newer castle and other Old Town attractions
• Gulbene
• Ligatne – a great natural park with wildlife animals and "fairy tale" forest with characters from famous Latvian fairytales
• Madona – a scenic town surrounded by hills, forests and lakes, and a winter sports centre
• Seda
• Smiltene
• Strenci
• Valka – unique town on the Estonian border, which runs through the town centre. Due to future plans it is close to regaining the status of important cultural centre.
• Valmiera

Other destinations

• Cesvaine, a small town that is home to the eclectic Cesvaine Palace.

Talk

• Latvian is the official language of Latvia.
• English is the best option with youth as it is normally being taught as the first foreign language in the schools.
• Russian is widely spoken by mid-age and eldery people.
• People of northern areas (near Valka) may speak Estonian.
• German was taught in some schools during the Soviet times, some people may still speak it at basic level.